1
Dave Rennie weighs in on Leroy Carter's defensive display against Boks
52
Jack van Poortvliet on the 'big trend' in rugby that's a focus for club and country
4 Comments
Share 
Scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet is convinced that England can bounce back from one of their worst-ever Six Nations campaigns and deliver some strong performances in the inaugural Nations Championship.
The 24-year-old Leicester scrum-half, whose age is matched by his number of England caps, came off the bench in the defeats to Ireland, Italy and France.
However, the manner of England’s swashbuckling performance in pushing champions France so close in Paris, 48-46, ensured they at least ended the Championship on a more positive note and can head into fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina this July with a bit more confidence.
VIDEO
“Obviously, the overall feeling would be one of frustration, with the performances and the results,” the Norwich-born nine admitted.
“But I love playing for England, I loved having the opportunity again to be a part of the Six Nations, and there were some special occasions I got to play in, especially that France game.
“There’s a lot we took from that game. I took a lot of lessons from it and I’m sure the group will only be better for what happened in the Six Nations.
“In terms of a template for how you want to attack, I think that was definitely more of a template against France. Probably not in terms of wanting to leak that many points, but it’s always hard against quality attacks like that.
“That’s the one thing I have learnt in my career so far is the amount rugby changes in a short period of time, and each team is trying to find what’s the best way to play, and I think the big trend at the moment is those transition attacks and less multi-phase.
“I think it is a really exciting game with the number of transitions, so I think that is more the template and I think it will be for most teams. It is something that we are working on here (Leicester) and we’ll probably continue to work on with England.”
Leicester, like England in that France game, have thrown away the shackles and are starting to use their potent weapons out wide, which now include a fit-again Adam Radwan.
Radwan, who has scored 20 tries in 26 appearances since his move from Newcastle, is two games into his comeback from a lower-leg injury.
While Newcastle will be on red alert if Radwan is picked to play against his former club, van Poortvliet recognises that the Red Bulls have threats of their own, including his potential opposite number, Simón Benítez Cruz.
Van Poortvliet came face-to-face with the Argentinean on England’s summer tour to the Americas and is looking forward to another intense battle.
“I think he’s a brilliant player. With ball in hand, around the ruck, he is always looking to be a constant threat, to take that space, and he doesn’t miss many running opportunities. So that ends up creating a lot of space for a lot of people around him and people on edges. I think he’s been a brilliant signing for them and someone we’re going to have to be really wary of.”
Next season, Newcastle will possess another quality nine in Raffi Quirke, a player van Poortvliet is even more familiar with.
“Me and Raff are the same age, so we competed with each other through the age groups, through the England age grade stuff and we get on well,” he said.
“I think it’s a brilliant signing for Newcastle. He’s an incredible player and, yeah, he’ll definitely be a huge addition to their squad.”
Newcastle’s squad is one that’s been rapidly evolving since the takeover by Red Bull was announced last August, with 22 new arrivals ahead of the current season and a further 20 penned since then.
Now that the bedding in process is well underway, performances from the PREM’s bottom club are starting to pick up, notably in the near-miss against Northampton. This hasn’t been lost on van Poortvliet, who is mindful that the Tigers will need to work hard to earn the five points they need to stay in the hunt for a home play-off semi-final.
“They are a team that’s had lots of changes and you normally find with a team that’s had lots of changes that it takes them a while to get used to one another. And now they’ve had most of the season together, they are improving, and improving quickly.
“You can see that on the pitch. With Stephen Jones now coaching them, they seem to be playing more expansive as well, moving the ball, and they seem more theatening with ball in hand to what we’d seen to date.
“They’ve got lots of threats all over and we are very wary of those threats.”
Leicester are a club all too familiar with change, but van Poortvliet believes the Tigers are on much firmer foundations as they look to go one better than last season and win the league.
“Last year, when we finished the season (as runners-up to Bath), I was saying to the boys that I came through with, that I have been here six seasons and I have had six coaches. It makes you feel almost a bit more like a footballer.
“But I am really happy with where we are at now, with the players we have got, with the coaching group and the buzz here.”
